City Hall has resorted to extreme precautionary measures ahead of planned demonstrations on Wednesday, June 25, to mark a year since the Gen-Z protests.
After a recent wave of vandalism targeting dustbins, public infrastructure, and businesses in Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD), City Hall has deliberately stalled upgrades in the CBD.
One of the most notable preemptive steps to safeguard public infrastructure was the temporary removal of the newly installed waste bins across the Nairobi CBD and key urban areas.
Confirming the measure, Nairobi County Chief Officer of Environment Geoffrey Mosiria said the bins and other infrastructure would be reinstalled after the June 25 protests.
“We have suspended installation of dustbins in CBD and we shall resume after the 25th demonstrations to avoid them being vandalised during the demonstration,” Mosiria told Kenyans.co.ke.
Mosiria divulged that the move was informed by recent protests, particularly on June 12, when protesters who took to the streets on Thursday to demonstrate against the recent death of blogger Albert Ojwang were seen uninstalling the bins.
The Chief Officer for Environment revealed that the chaos on June 12 not only disrupted waste management services, but it also led to the destruction of property worth millions. During the protests, for example, dozens of public dustbins were either vandalised or set ablaze by protesters.
A quick spot check in the Nairobi CBD on Tuesday confirmed the absence of the bins, which were installed as part of Nairobi County's environmental management programme that is set to improve the hygiene of the capital.
Besides bins, Nairobi County also installed low-hanging streetlights in May as part of the city's beautification programme. These lights barely lasted a month before protesters took them down.
Long before the June 12 protests, the county was still grappling with the issue of vandalism of the newly installed infrastructure. The situation became so dire that the Mosiria announced a Ksh5,000 reward for anyone who apprehends those vandalising and fleeing with county dustbins.
Meanwhile, as far as the June 25 protests are concerned, Nairobi governor Johnson Sakaja revealed that he had already spoken to the regional commander of the National Police Service (NPS) to ensure the security of the protesters.
Sakaja also refuted claims that he sponsored goons during the last protests on June 17, stating, "As your governor, I remain committed to the rights of those who protest, as I have shown in the past when I have given safe passage, ambulances, health facilities and even venues for concerts of peace because we believe in that right.”
